DIII: Tufts February Scrimmage Report

In 2012 the Jumbos accomplished a near impossible feat, notching their third straight NESCAC title in Division III lacrosse’s most competitive conference. And they did it in heart-stopping fashion, battling their way back against a tough Bowdoin squad and winning out as then-sophomore attackman Beau Wood stung a shot with less than two minutes remaining in double overtime.

Three weeks later, their season ended just short of a third-straight trip to the National Championship game, when they relinquished a five-goal third quarter lead and dropped a 12-10 semifinal decision to the Cortland State Red Dragons.

As the 2013 season opens, the last members of 2010’s National Championship team take the field, this time as seniors. In the past three seasons, the team has seen personnel turnover at all ends of the field. And each season, the Jumbos adapt. This spring it is the defense that takes up the veteran role, led by three seniors and three-year starters.

The Jumbos are ranked No. 4 in the USILA poll, and several members of head coach Mike Daly’s squad have received preseason All-American nods in commendation for their performance last season. With a strong class of recruits joining the mix, Tufts looks for its fourth-straight conference title and hopes to book tickets to the City of Brotherly Love for NCAA Championship Weekend in late May.

YALE-QUINNIPIAC

On Feb. 17, Tufts traveled to New Haven, CT for a three-way scrimmage with Div. I schools Yale and Quinnipiac. Tufts scrimmaged Yale first at 1 p.m., giving last year’s starters and several of the upperclassmen an opportunity to see time. For the second scrimmage against Quinnipiac, the Jumbos played several of their younger members, including a number of freshmen and sophomores for much of the contest.

All results were unofficial, but the announced score of the Yale scrimmage was an even 10-10. In the second scrimmage, it appeared that the Jumbos worked more on mechanics and on incorporating new faces into their old framework.

Nevertheless, play shed some additional light on the ways in which the roster has changed since last season, how various returners have grown, and how the rookies have been integrated into the team dynamic.

KEENE STATE

On Feb. 23, the Jumbos hosted a pair of scrimmages in Medford, Mass. In the first scrimmage, Tufts squared off against Keene State. The Owls return 25 players, including six starters, and have been selected as the No. 2 team in the Little East Conference in preseason polls.

Juniors Taylor Jette and Ian Hart, who finished second and third respectively for points in 2012, will likely be standouts for the Owls this season. Interestingly enough, Mark Theriault’s Owls scrimmaged another NESCAC contender—the Bates Bobcats—on Wednesday afternoon.

On the other side of the midfield line, the Jumbos allowed several younger players to earn time against Keene St., starting off with first-years John Uppgren and Connor Bilby joining junior Jack McDermott at the attacking end.

Uppgren, a Minnesota native, plays with a distinct style somewhat reminiscent of the Canadian box-style that has become so popular in the sport in recent years. A strong lefty, the freshman proved his prowess up close on cage but also demonstrated an ability to read coverage well and find the open man.

At midfield, the Jumbos primarily ran their starters, highlighting seniors SSDM Sam Diss and midfielders Dylan Haas, Ben Saperstein, and Brian Ruggiero. First year Chris Sawyer also gave a strong performance, polishing off a few nice goals in the winning effort. As always Diss and Haas, among the fastest on the team, played essential roles in Tufts’ transition game.

Freshman pole Blake Wood teamed up with sophomore Cem Kalkavan and junior Nate Marchand to hold things down at the defensive end, while two-year starter Patton Watkins got the nod in cage. First-year pole Curt Townshend also notched minutes in the first game, and saw action up on the wing as well, while classmates John Sax and Brendan Treanor provided fresh legs and Div. I size to the Jumbos’ defense.

The Jumbos edged the Owls 16-11, using production from Uppgren, McDermott, Sawyer, and several others to get the job done. Keene St. showed persistence, however, and refused to go down easily. As the Owls took aim on Jumbos’ sophomore keeper Brian Droesch at the end of the second half, Droesch and a young defense were forced to communicate and work together to shut down late scoring threats.

MERRIMACK

In the second scrimmage, Tufts faced off with Div. II opponent Merrimack. The Warriors put on a good showing, and could well be one of the top contenders at their level of competition this season.

Ranked No. 5 by the NEILA in preseason polls, the Warriors rode in on the backs of seniors Greg Melaugh and Corey Lunney. Melaugh, last year’s points and goals-per-game leader, made his presence known early with several outside snipes and low to high looks that the Jumbos were ill-prepared for. Lunney, another preseason All-American who led the conference with goals and assists last season, also earned a mark on his back early in the contest.

The Jumbos brought in several experienced starters for the contest, including poles Sam Gardner and Matt Callahan and attackman Cole Bailey. Sophomore Chris Schoenhut and freshman Kyle Howard-Johnson joined Bailey on the starting attack unit.

At midfield, the Jumbos demonstrated how depth and athleticism plays to the advantage of a team that historically emphasizes a strong transition game and run-and-gun scoring. In light of dominant midfielder Nick Rhoads’ graduation, the Jumbos have developed resourceful options at X. However, most of these options will likely increase the role of the men on the wing—fortunately for the Jumbos, they return most of their top players here.

A handful of veterans—junior Kane Delaney, senior Ryan Jorgensen, and sophomore Tim LaBeau—worked from the wings, while brothers Jeff and Justin Chang split a majority of the faceoff looks with sophomore Ryan Le.
Junior midfielder Peter Bowers and classmate Dan Leventhal added to the Jumbos’ offensive firepower in the second scrimmage while sophomore Charlie Rubin also stepped up with strong play in the midfield, contributing a goal in the process.

Senior keeper Tyler Page started out between the pipes, and was tested early with some tough looks courtesy of a trio of seniors—Lunney, Melaugh, and DJ Brown, who put heavy pressure on cage for much of the afternoon, drawing the Jumbos’ staunchest lines of defense.

The Warriors effectively executed picks and skip passes to create open looks throughout the afternoon, and sent a largely veteran Jumbo defense sputtering for the first half. In the second half, the Jumbos trailed by as much as six, but going into the final quarter, Daly’s squad turned up the pressure.

Sophomores Chang, C.J. Higgins, and Garrett Read, like Kalkavan, look prepped for breakout seasons, and helped the Jumbos lock things down late in the Merrimack scrimmage, refusing to let the Warriors run away with things.

With first-year Alex Salazar in the cage, the Jumbos staged an impressive comeback, notching one goal at a time to pull within one of the Warriors. With fewer than 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Leventhal turned and found Schoenhut in traffic in front of the cage. The sophomore finished off one of several goals for the day to send Tufts and Merrimack into overtime.

In OT, each team handled at least one possession, but neither was able to muster a shot right on cage, and the referees called the scrimmage after the first scoreless four-minute period. Things ended in a 13-13 knot.
Schoenhut tacked on heads-up scores in the opening quarters, turning rebounded or deflected shots into shovel goals. Sophomore Peter Gill, who netted a handful of goals against Quinnipiac the week prior, put together another strong performance on Saturday, using his size and athleticism to his advantage. Bailey, meanwhile, turned on his A-game late in the contest.

THE HAND THAT’S BEEN DEALT

The Saturday scrimmages afforded the Jumbos the opportunity to showcase all four goalkeepers, each of whom bring different skills and plenty of talent to the table. In fact, one of Tufts’ greatest strengths at all positions is its depth.

In light of school-issued suspensions recently leveled upon 27 members of the Jumbos’ roster, Coach Daly will have to rely on his team’s depth for the first two games of the season, to be played against NESCAC rivals Hamilton and Connecticut College. Fortunately for the Jumbos, there is no shortage of that.